The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) organized a Member State briefing on the situation in South Sudan at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) and featured Mr. Alain Noudéhou, Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan as the main presenter.

Both Mr. Lowcock and Mr. Noudéhou indicated that the humanitarian situation was not improving, especially as regards food security (see link to IPC south Sudan page). Renewed conflict, the onset of the rainy season, as well as difficulties to access populations in need were pointed out as the main contributing factors. They went on to emphasize that peace was the only possible solution for the country and reiterated their support to the peace talks. They also strongly advocated for the lifting of all impediments and obstructions to the delivery of aid, insisting on the absolute necessity for all parties to guarantee the safety of humanitarian workers and the access to populations in need.

FAO spoke to remind all that the food security situation was very worrying in hard to reach areas with access and security problems. Following the distribution of agricultural inputs, including 6000 tonnes of seeds, in almost all counties of South Sudan during the planting season, FAO hopes that farmers will be able to harvest their crops in relative peace and improve the food security situation in the country. FAO also raised the issue of the second planting season in southern areas for which funding is still necessary. Finally, FAO indicated that they were currently distributing rapid response kits, that have in the past proven to be lifesaving. These kits include fishing equipment for rapid access to protein-rich food and vegetable seed that can mature in just a few weeks. Current funding is sufficient to cover just 43% of FAO’s response plan for 2018, with 32.5 million US dollars funded out of a total of 75 million.   

Links to:

FAO in Emergencies South Sudan page: http://www.fao.org/emergencies/crisis/south-sudan/en/

IPC South Sudan page: http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-countries/ipcinfo-eastern-middle-africa/south-sudan/en

OCHA South Sudan page: https://www.unocha.org/south-sudan